METALS-Copper eases on profit booking ahead of Trump-Xi talk, Fed rate call

(Recasts to show copper prices fall) SHANGHAI, Oct 28 (Reuters) – Copper prices eased on Tuesday as investors locked in gains after last session’s record rally, sparked by optimism over the upcoming meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping and the Federal Reserve's rate decision. The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange erased morning's gain and closed daytime trade 1.09% lower at 86,980 yuan ($12,211.15) per metric ton. The benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell 1.05% to $10,913.5 a ton as of 0746 GMT. The decline halted London copper's four-day rally and its Shanghai peer's three-day climb, after both touched 17-month highs on Monday amid optimism that the world's top two economies were nearing a deal to de-escalate trade tensions. Investors booked profits as copper approached its all-time peak, traders said. Demand for the red metal continued to show weakness. The Yangshan copper premium , which reflects appetite for importing copper, declined to $35 a ton on Monday from $58 in late September. Stakes are high ahead of Thursday's meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in South Korea, where the two leaders are expected to finalise a trade framework hammered out by officials from both sides over the weekend in Malaysia. Investors are also watching the Fed's upcoming rate call on Wednesday. Policymakers at the U.S. central bank are poised to trim the short-term borrowing rate by a quarter percentage point. Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech following the decision, however, will influence market sentiment as it will signal whether a much-anticipated additional cut will emerge in December. Among other SHFE base metals, aluminium dropped 0.56%, lead declined 0.91%, tin fell 0.63% and zinc was little changed. Elsewhere on the LME, aluminium declined 0.64%, zinc dipped 0.97%, lead fell 0.52%, nickel dropped 0.69% and tin lost 0.31%. ($1 = 7.1230 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Dylan Duan and Lewis Jackson; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)